Finance Deptt delaying concurrence
Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Sept 13: Functioning of the only agriculture university in Jammu region and its vital Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) is badly affected because of vacant Administrative, Faculty and Non-Teaching positions in the institution as the State Finance Department is allegedly delaying its concurrence in filling up of these available posts.
Official sources told the Excelsior that more than two hundred positions of Teaching and Non Teaching are lying vacant in the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) – Jammu since long thus resulting that the work in various administrative offices, departments and divisions is severely affected.
While elaborating, sources said that besides the posts of Registrar, Director Planning and Monitoring, Dean FBSc, Estate Officer, University Librarian, Dean Students Welfare and Associate Director Research, ACRA, 22 positions of Professor/equivalent, 27 of Associate Professor/equivalent and 44 of Assistant Professor/ equivalent are lying vacant under direct quota in SKUAST-Jammu.
Similarly, sources added, 110 posts of Assistant Registrar/ equivalent and other Non-Teaching positions in direct quota are also lying vacant in the university.
Even as the SKUAST-Jammu has been requesting the Government to accord permission for filling up of these Administrative, Teaching, Scientific as well as Non-Teaching positions in various Directorates, Faculties, offices as well as centrally sponsored Research Projects/ KVKs, the Jammu and Kashmir Finance Department is not according its concurrence for the reasons best known to the concerned authorities.
Pertinent to mention that according to the State Administrative Council (SAC) decision number 155/17/2019, dated 03-07-2019 and Government order number 377-F of 2019, dated 04-07-2019, no recruitment against vacant posts shall be made by Public sector Undertakings/ Autonomous Bodies/Societies without prior concurrence of the Finance Department.
Even as the SKUAST-Jammu has been repeatedly approaching the Finance Department in the past some time seeking concurrence for filling up of Teaching/Non-Teaching posts in the university, there has been no response from the concerned authorities, who seem least bothered about the routine work in this agriculture university getting badly affected because of acute scarcity of staff.
Not only the university itself, sources said that the University Grants Commission (UGC) has also been pressing hard for the filling up of vacant teaching positions. UGC Joint Secretary vide his office letter number 1-5/2006(SCT) dated 07-03-2019 has requested to complete the process of recruitment within six months. Besides, Secretary UGC, New Delhi, vide number DO No. F1-14/2019 (CPP-II), dated June 4, 2019, issued guidelines for the recruitment of faculty in the universities and reiterated that the Higher Educational Institutions should initiate and complete the selection process within a period of six months.
Moreover, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) vide its communication number A.Extn.4/12/2019-AE-III, dated June 12, 2019, has also issued the direction to initiate immediate action for filling up the vacant positions in the KVKs, which are 100 percent funded by ICAR.
It may be mentioned here that since the inception of the SKUAST-Jammu, very few posts in teaching as well as non-teaching category have been created whereas the university has been regularly expanding by way of opening of new schools, faculties, centres etc and managing its affair by way of restructuring/ rationalizing of various teaching/non-teaching positions from the Faculties/Research Station.
However, in absence of proper requisite staff for the functioning of the different units of the university, the teaching/research and other routine work has been badly affected notwithstanding the best possible efforts by the incumbent administration to deliver the maximum.
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